Car wash apparatus

ABSTRACT

CAR WASH APPARATUS IN WHICH AN OVERHEAD BRUSH WHICH WASHES THE ROOF AND REAR END PORTION OF THE CAR IS SUPPORTED TO PERMIT THE BRUSH TO MOVE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE CAR AS THE BRUSH MOVES INTO CONTACT WITH THE REAR PORTION OF THE CAR MOVING PAST THE APPARATUS.

1971 K. P. SCHEUERMANN 3,626,533

CAR WASH APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet l mveu'ron KURT F.SCHEUERMANN ATTORNEYS Dec. 14, 1971 P. SCHEUERMANN 3,626,533

CAR WASH APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet I FIG. 2A.

FIG. 28.

FIG. 26.

FIG. 20.

FIG. 2E.

FlG. 2F.

United States Patent "ice 3,626,538 CAR WASH APPARATUS Kurt P.Scheuermann, 211 Eastbourne Terrace, Moorestown, NJ. 08057 Filed Sept.8, 1970, Ser. No. 70,150 Int. Cl. B60s 3/06 US. Cl. 21 D 10 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Car wash apparatus in which an overhead brushwhich washes the roof and rear end portion of the car is supported topermit the brush to move in the direction of the car as the brush movesinto contact with the rear portion of the car moving past the apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to car washingequipment and particularly to an apparatus for supporting an overheadbrush which is arranged to wash the roof, trunk, and rear end portion ofthe car.

In the present day car washes, there is usually provided a cleaningstation having an overhead brush which is adapted to wash the hood, roofand trunk of the car. These brushes typically are mounted on a pivotalsupport whereby the brush is supported at the end of a pivoted framewhich extends from the pivot axis in the same direction as the directionof movement of the car through the apparatus and past the cleaningstation, This arrangement is not entirely satisfactory, particularly inthe case of station Wagons, since, as the car moves past the brush andthe brush pivots downwardly past the rear end portion of the car, thebrush moves away from the car and cannot make a very effective contactwith the car. Since this overhead brush arrangement does not wash therear end portion of the car, present day car washes employ a separaterear end washing means usually in the form of a wrap around brush.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the general object of this invention toprovide a car washing apparatus wherein the overhead brush for the roofand rear of the car is supported so that it will provide an improvedwashing action. Briefly stated, this object is achieved by the provisionof a movable support for the'brush which permits the brush to move inthe direction of car movement as the rear end portion of the car movespast the cleaning station. This arrangement permits a longer period ofcontact between the brush and the rear end portion of the car and animproved contact pressure :between the brush and the car. This isparticularly advantageous for the cleaning of the rear end portion of astation wagon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective viewillustrating the car wash apparatus in accordance with the invention;and

FIGS. 2A through 2F are schematic illustrations showing the sequentialstages of the car movement through the car washing apparatus andillustrating the car washing action in accordance with the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus in accordance withthe invention is utilized in a conventional car wash at a stationwhereat the roof, trunk and the rear end portion of the car are to bebrush cleaned. The other parts of the car are cleaned, washed and driedat other stations of the car wash. As is conventional in the art, thecar is connected to a conveyor which pulls the car in a straight paththrough the car wash past the various cleaning, washing and dryingstations. Such means are conventional and form no part of the presentinvention which relates to the construction and arrangement of anapparatus for supporting a rotating brush which is adapted to clean theroof, trunk and rear end portion of the car as it passes the cleaningstation.

Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus in accordance with the inventioncomprises a pivoted frame, indicated generally at 10, mounted above thepath of travel of the car through the car wash and past the cleaningstation. The frame 10 includes a pivot bar 12 which extends transverselyacross the path of travel of the car (which is shown by the arrow inFIG. 1) and is rotatably mounted at its ends on suitable bearings 14 and16 which are mounted on the main frame 18 of the cleaning station whichis supported on the floor of the car wash. A pair of elongated members20 and 22 are mounted at a central portion thereof on the pivot bar 12for movement there with. The members 20 and 22 extend in parallelrelation and are spaced apart a considerable distance which desirably issomewhat greater than the width of a car. The members 20 and 22 extendat right angles to the pivot bar 12 and thus extend in planes parallelto the path of travel of a car through the car wash. The members 20 and22 are connected together at their ends which adds to their structuralstrength. At the ends of members 20 and 22 which extend from the pivotbar 12 in the direction opposite to the direction of car movement, themembers 20 and 22 carry a rod 24 which extends transversely across thecar wash station and is supported by a pair of two-hole flange bearings26 and 28 on the members 20 and 22, respectively. At their oppositeends, members 2t) and 22, carry a transversely extending counterweight30, the purpose of which will appear more fully hereafter.

Means are provided for rotatably supporting a car washing or cleaningbrush on the end of the frame 10 which carries the pivot rod 24. Suchmeans comprises a pair of frame members 32 and 34 which are mounted atupper portions onto the ends of rod 24 at the bearings 26 and 28,whereby members 32 and 34 pivot about the axis of rod 24. The members 32and 34 extend in parallel relation as is shown in FIG. 1 and areconnected at their upper ends by a cross member or spacer 35 and at alocation below bar 24 by a second'cross member or spacer 36 whereby themembers 32 and 34 are connected together in a unitary frame structure38. Member 36 is a U-shaped channel which contains a water spray pipe 37which directs sprays of water downwardly onto the brush therebeneath asis conventional in the art. Water is supplied to pipe 37 by way of aconduit 39. At their lower ends members 32 and 34 carry a brush shaft 40which is rotatably mounted in a pair of bearings 42 and 44 which aremounted on the lower ends of the members 32 and 34, respectively. Thebrush shaft 40 is adapted to rotatably support a suitable brush 46 shownin dashed lines in FIG. 1. The brush 46 may take any of the suitableforms well known in the art.

The counterweight 30 is designed to approximately balance the weight ofthe brush 46 and the supporting frame 38. Accordingly the frame 10 ismaintained in a balanced condition on pivot bar 12.

By reason of the construction described above, it will be apparent thatthe brush carrying frame 38 is pivotally mounted onto the frame 10 atthe end thereof carrying the rod 24. There is provided a stop member 50mounted on the member 22 at a location adjacent the upper end of member34, the stop member 50 being adapted to contact the upper end of member34 to limit the movement thereof. The parts are constructed and arrangedso that the stop member 50 will limit the movement of the frame 38 inthe clockwise direction about the axis of bar 24 as viewed from theright in FIG. 1. This limit of movement occurs when the frame 38 extendsat right angles to the frame 10. It will be noted that the frame 38 isfree to pivot in a counterclockwise direction from the stop positionabout the axis of rod 24 as viewed from the right in FIG. 1. The purposeof this arrangement will become apparent hereafter.

Means are provided for biasing the frame 38 towards pivotal movement inthe counterclockwise direction about the axis of rod 24 away from thestop member 50. Such means comprises a hydraulic cylinder means 52 whichis pivoted at one end on a bracket 53 on member 22 and has the extendedend of its actuator arm 54 (which is connected to a piston within thecylinder) connected to a member 56 mounted on the spacer 35. Hydraulicfluid is supplied to one end of the cylinder 52 (i.e. on one side of thepiston therein) through a hose 58 which is connected to a supplycontainer 60 for hydraulic fluid. Air pressure is supplied to the upperend of the container 60 through a hose 62 which extends from an airpressure source (not shown). The source is such that a relatively lowand constant pressure is maintained. By this arrangement, the hydrauliccylinder 52 will apply a constant force to the upper end of the frame 38to tend to urge the same to pivot in a clockwise direction about theaxis of rod 24. It will be noted that this force may be overcome by theapplication of a more powerful force to the member 38 in the oppositedirection and the cylinder means 52 will accommodate such a force.

The frame 38 also carries means for causing rotation of the brush shaft40. Such means comprises a motor 66 mounted at the upper end of member32. The motor 66 is drivingly connected to an endless drive chain 68which is connected to a sprocket on the end of the brush shaft 40supported on member 32. In this manner the operation of the motor 66causes the movement of the drive chain 68 to cause rotation of the brushshaft 40. The brush is rotated in the direction of the arrows in thedrawings.

Means are provided for applying a force to the frame to urge the same ina counterclockwise direction about the axis of pivot bar 12 as viewedfrom the right of FIG. 1. Such means comprises a hydraulic cylinder 70which is pivoted at one end to an upright support member 71 and whichhas the extended end of its actuator arm 72 (which is connected to apiston within the cylinder) connected to a pivot arm 74 secured to pivotbar 12 and projecting upwardly therefrom as viewed in FIG. 1. Hydraulicfluid is supplied to one end of hydraulic cylinder 70 (i.e. on one sideof the piston therein) by a hose connection 76 from a supply ofhydraulic fluid in a container 78 supported on upright 71. Air pressureis applied to the upper portion of container 78 to cause the hydraulicfluid to move into the cylinder 70 to cause an extension of the actuatorrod 72 when it is desired to effect a pivoting action of the frame 10.The air pressure applied to container 78 is controlled by a suitable camactuated control valve means 80 which is adapted to vary the pressureapplied to the container 78. The control means 80 is of any type wellknown in the art and is such that during a cycle of operation the airpressure applied to container 78 increases. The purpose of this willbecome more apparent during the description of the operation of theapparatus in accordance with the invention.

There will, of course, be provided various control means as isconventional in the art starting and stopping the cycle of operation andfor insuring safe operation.

There is also provided a stop member 86 mounted on an upright 88 andadapted to contact arm 74 to limit the clockwise movement (as viewedfrom the right in FIG. 1) of pivot bar 12 and frame 10. The stop 86 ispositioned to prevent the piston in cylinder 70 from contacting theupper end of this cylinder during a clockwise movement of the frame 10as will be described hereafter.

The operation of the apparatus in accordance with the invention isillustrated in FIGS. 2A through 2F. In FIG. 2A the apparatus is shown inthe condition when the brush 46 has just come into contact with thefront end of the roof of the car, the parts assuming the positiongenerally shown in this figure. It will be noted that the frame 38extends at an acute angle with the frame 10, this being achieved by thebiasing action of the cylinder means 52.

The next stage in the operation is shown in FIG. 2B, wherein the brushis shown on top of the roof of the car. It will be noted that the acuteangle has been decreased considerably, this being caused by the frictionof the rotating brush 46 in contact with the roof of the car and byreason of an increase in the pressure applied by the cylinder by way ofthe control valve means 80. The frictional contact of the brush with thecar causes the brush to move away from the axis of pivot bar 12.

In FIG. 2C the brush 46 is shown as it is leaving the rear end of theroof of the car and it will be noted that the frame 38 extends at rightangles to the frame 10. This being achieved by the application of asubstantial pressure by the cylinder 70 which forces the brush 46downwardly to apply considerable pressure onto the roof of the carthereby increasing the friction between the rotating brush and the carwhich causes the brush to move along the car until this movement ishalted by the stop member 50 coming into contact with the member 34.

In FIG. 2D, the car is shown in a position where the brush 46 isrotating against the rear window of the car to effect a cleaningthereof. It will be noted that the frames 10 and 38 have been pivoteddownwardly slightly from the position shown in FIG. 2C to follow thecontour of the car. This is achieved by the continued pressure beingapplied by the cylinder 70, which pressure is increased over thatapplied in the condition shown in FIG. 2C.

In FIG. 2E, the car has moved to the position whereat the brush 46contacts the end of the trunk and the brush 46 has moved slightlydownwardly along the rear end of the car. It will be noted that theframes 10 and 38 are moved downwardly slightly from the position shownin FIG. 2D. Again this is achieved by the action of the cylinder 70, thefrictional contact of the brush 46 with the car serving to overcome theaction of the bias applied by the hydraulic cylinder 52.

In FIG. 2F the car has moved to the position whereat the brush 46 isacting at a central portion on the rear end of the car, the pressureapplied by cylinder 70 being at the maximum. It will be noted that theframes 10 and 38 have tilted downwardly and the brush 46 has moved alongwith the car to maintain its contact with the rear end of the car as thecar moves from the position shown in FIG. 2B to the position shown inFIG. 2F. This is an important feature of the arrangement in accordancewith the invention. By reason of the long time in which the brush 46 ismaintained in contact with the car and the fact that this contact can bemaintained under pressure, a very effective cleaning action may beachieved.

After the car has moved past the cleaning station and the brush 46 hasmoved to a position such as is shown in FIG. 2F, the cleaning cycle iscompleted. This is achieved by the control valve means relieving the airpressure applied to container 78. When this occurs, the frames 10 and 38return to the position shown in FIG. 2A under the action of thecounterweight 30. The stop member 86 will limit this return movement toprevent damage to the cylinder 70 as was described above.

It will be apparent that there will be provided suitable control meansfor insuring that the parts will not remain in the position such as thatshown in FIG. 2B or 2F but will be returned to the position shown inFIG. 2A after a car has moved past the cleaning station. If this werenot the case, the next car coming into the car washing station wouldcome into contact with the frame 38 and possibly be damaged. Suchcontrol means are well known in the art and generally involve a timer,as shown at 82 in FIG. 1, which is energized at the start of the cycleand provides a control signal after a predetermined time correspondingto the time when a car would move past a station. In this case the timersignal will be applied to the control means 80 for the hydrauliccylinder 70 to actuate the same to cut off the application of the airpressure and allow the frame and the frame 38 carried thereby to returnto the upward position such as that shown in FIG. 2A by reason of thecounterweight action. In addition there may be provided a safety switch90' which is contacted by the car to actuate a control which causes theframe 38 to return to the position shown in FIG. 2A.

However, another feature of the invention is that the construction isfail safe in that even if a car should pass into the station with theframes 10 and 38 in a downward position (which could occur if the timer82 and switch 90 failed), as soon as the car would contact the brush 46to move it forwardly toward the pivotal axis 12 (this movement ispermitted by reason of the mounting of frame 38 on frame 10 as describedabove), this would decrease the weight tending to cause the frames 10and '38 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction and the counterweight30 would cause an unbalance and operate to actually lift the frames 10and 38 upwardly. In this way, the mechanism is fail safe and willoperate safely mechanically even if other control means fail.

It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the constructionand arrangement of parts without departing from the scope of theinvention. For example, the location and arrangement of thecounterweight means may take various forms. Accordingly, it is notdesired to be limited except as required by the following claims.

I claim:

1. For use in a car wash in which a car is moved along a path of travelthrough the car wash and past a cleaning station for the top and rearend portions of the car, an apparatus for supporting a rotating brush atsaid station comprising first support means for rotatably supporting thebrush to extend above and transversely of the path of travel of the car,second support means for movably sup porting said first support means,said second support means including a pivot means extending transverselyof the path of travel of the car and a supporting frame mounted on saidpivot means and extending therefrom in the direction opposite to thedirection in which the car moves in its path of travel past saidcleaning station, said first support means being mounted on an extendedportion of said support frame so that the brush is supported formovement downwardly and forwardly in the direction of travel of the carpast said cleaning station.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the mounting of said firstsupport means on said supporting frame comprises a pivotal mountingmeans permitting said first support means to pivot in the direction ofcar travel.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 including stop means for limitingthe pivotal movement of the first support means relative to said secondsupport means in the direction away from the pivot of the second supportmeans, said stop means being located so that at said limited locationthe first support means extends approximately perpendicularly to saidsupporting frame.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said supporting frame has aportion extending from said pivot means in the direction of movement ofthe car past said cleaning station, and including a counterweight meansmounted on said last-mentioned extending portion to balance the weightof the means mounted on the other extended portion of said supportingframe.

5. An apparatus according to claim 2 including means for biasing saidfirst support means about its pivotal mounting in a direction to causethe brush to move toward the pivotal means for said second supportmeans.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 in which said biasing meanscomprises a pressure actuated hydraulic cylinder.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1 including means for urging saidsupporting frame to pivot about said pivot means in the directionwhereby said first support means is moved downwardly and in thedirection of movement of the car past said cleaning station.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7 in which said urging meanscomprises a pressure actuated hydraulic cylinder and means for varyingthe force applied by said hydraulic cylinder.

9. An apparatus according to claim 5 including means for urging saidsupporting frame to pivot about said pivot means in the directionwhereby said first support means is moved downwardly and in thedirection of movement of the car past said cleaning station.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9 in which said urging meanscomprises a pressure actuated hydraulic cylinder and means for varyingthe force applied by said hydraulic cylinder.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,237,348 3/1966 Block 1521 D UX3,484,884 12/1969 Fuhring et a1. 1521 D 3,501,794 3/1970 Solomon 15-21 DEDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 15DIG. 2

